CBG REVEALS FOREX TRADING REACH US$1.3 BILLION IN FIRST HALF OF 2025
Total activity volumes measured by aggregate purchases and sales of foreign currency amounted to US$1.3 billion in the first half of 2025, Central Bank Governor Buah Saidy disclosed yesterday.
He said this was 8.3 percent higher than what was recorded in the corresponding period a year ago. “This improvement was supported mainly by private remittance inflows amounting to US$426.0 million from January to June 2025. A rise in income from tourism was also a contributor to the improvement in foreign currency liquidity,” Governor Saidy added.
He stated that the domestic foreign exchange market continues to function smoothly with robust activity volumes. However, the exchange rate of the dalasi showed moderate depreciation in the second quarter of 2025. “The dalasi weakened by 0.8 percent against the US dollar, 7.6 percent against the Euro, 5.0 percent against British pound and 1.5 percent against the CFA francs,” he revealed.
Food inflation rises to 8.5 percent
The CBG further disclosed that food inflation has increased to 8.5 percent from 7.9 percent in June 2025, reflecting higher global vegetable, oil and meat prices alongside seasonal pressures in perishables.
Non-food inflation slowed steadily to 6.1 percent in July from 6.3 percent in June 2025. This decline, according to governor Buah Saidy, was aided by subdued global oil prices as well as stable domestic transport costs and utility tariffs.
In addition, core inflation edged up slightly to 5.8 percent in July from 5.3 percent in June 2025.
Governor Saidy further stated that his staff accessed the July uptick in inflation as a temporary deviation from the disinflation path and maintained the forecast that headline inflation will converge towards the 5 percent implicit target by year-end. “Nonetheless, this outlook remains subject to considerable risks emanating from the global economic environment particularly the commodity price volatility and the domestic fiscal policy path,” he said.
State of Gambian economy
The governor also stated that the Gambian economy maintained strong momentum, registering 5.3 percent growth in 2024. He said this performance was driven by gains in the financial services, trade, construction and mining. “Private remittance inflows and public investment also continue to support domestic demand. The growth outlook for 2025 remains robust as reflected in the 6.2 percent average expansion of the Central Banks Composite Index of Economic Activity in the first half of the year. Moreover, staff projected a real GDP growth of 6.4 percent for 2025,” he added.
Banking sector development
Governor Saidy also stated that the Gambian banking sector has a strong capital, liquidity and profit levels. “Total industry assets expanded by 7.2 percent between March and June 2025 reaching D110.9 billion equivalent to 64.3 percent of the GDP. Customer deposits also rose to D81.4 billion or 41.9 percent of the GDP,” Governor Saidy added.
He said the banks non-performing loan declined to 8.9 percent in June 2025, supported by ongoing loan restructuring efforts and improved repayment conditions.
Source: The Standard
